A trip to Costa Rica is not complete without a day spent diving or snorkeling. Because of Costa Rica's amazing beaches and position in the ocean, there are many different snorkeling and diving sights to be seen. And the best part is that there is something for each level of ability when it comes to snorkeling and diving.

If you are simply a casual underwater tourist, meaning that you don't know much about diving and snorkeling, but you would like to give it a try, there is not need to take lessons or try to improve your skills before you travel to Costa Rica. You can see some amazing underwater sights right from the beach. In Manuel Antonio, which is on the Pacific side, or Cahuita National Park, which is on the Caribbean shore, you can find many different beaches which will offer beautiful and easy, beginner level, snorkeling and diving. Many of these beaches will have stands at which you can rent equipment, and will have instructors for those who wish to try more than they are at first able to.

If you have been snorkeling and diving a bit, and you understand most of the concepts, you can also book boat dives which will run day and night. These dives to the coral reefs that are located on the southern Caribbean side of Costa Rica, or even to many of the small islands that are located off of the Pacific Ocean coast. At these boat dives, there are many things to see and many dives that you can be a part of. There is snorkeling on the reef for those that don't want to dive, and several levels of dives for more experienced divers.

If you truly want to have a diving experience, and you yourself are a bit experienced at diving, you might want to travel on a live aboard dive trip, which will take you to the Isla del Cocos, one of the top ten undersea destinations in the world. This lies about 5600 km off the south Pacific coast, and has a lot in common with the Galapagos Islands. Some of the dive trips will combine the two destinations. The divers who choose these trips will be able to swim with schools of hammerhead sharks, and be in some of the most clean and untouched water in the entire world. No matter what your ability level is, diving and snorkeling in Costa Rica is something that you should experience.